European guidelines on managing adverse effects of medication for ADHD

Abstract

The safety of ADHD medications is not fully known. Concerns have arisen about both a lack of contemporary-standard information about medications first licensed several decades ago, and signals of possible harm arising from more recently developed medications. These relate to both relatively minor adverse effects and extremely serious issues such as sudden cardiac death and suicidality. A guidelines group of the European Network for Hyperkinetic Disorders (EUNETHYDIS) has therefore reviewed the literature, recruited renowned clinical sub-specialists and consulted as a group to examine these concerns. Some of the effects examined appeared to be minimal in impact or difficult to distinguish from risk to untreated populations. However, several areas require further study to allow a more precise understanding of these risks.